Class Action is a national nonprofit that inspires action to end classism.
Class Action provides a dynamic framework and analysis for people of all backgrounds to identify and address issues of class and classism. We do this through powerful interactive trainings, workshops, presentations, organizational consulting, research and public education.
Class Action is shattering the silence that surrounds class in our society and is changing how we think and talk about class.
Since our founding in 2004, more than 20,000 people and hundreds of organizations in 25 states, have been moved to awareness and action by Class Action.
Our vision: A World Without Classism
• Meets everyone’s basic needs;
• Treats people from every background, race, class status and rank with dignity and respect;
• Supports the development of all people to their full potential;
• Reduces the vast differences in income, wealth and access to resources;
• Ensures everyone has a voice in the decisions that affect them.
What We Do
Class Action inspires action to end classism and extreme inequality by providing change-makers with tools, training and inspiration to raise awareness, understand the relationship between class and race, shift cultural beliefs about social class, build cross-class solidarity, and transform institutions and systems.
Through workshops, trainings and webinars; organizational consulting; print and online resources; and public education, we:
- Help individuals develop class awareness and a class lens,
- Highlight race and class intersections,
- Address class barriers and class privilege,
- Build bridges across the class divide,
- Support institutions to become more equitable,
- Promote economic justice.
We work directly with organizations and institutions to address class issues that undermine their ability to serve their constituents and fulfill their missions. We also hold open workshops for community members from diverse backgrounds to learn about the impact of class and classism on their individual lives, communities, workplaces, and organizing efforts. We focus our energy on high-impact, systemic change in key areas of critical influence: education, philanthropy, race and class intersections, and social change.
Our Programs:
Webinars and Trainings
Race/Class Intersections
Cross-Class Dialogue Groups
Staffing the Mission (for non-profits)
Activist Class Cultures
First Gen College Student Summit
Class and Climate
Contact Us
For questions, media inquiries, and general support please email office@classism.org.
How We Got Started
Class Action Founders Jennifer Ladd and Felice Yeskel met in the fall of 1989. Within five minutes, they realized that they had grown up at different ends of the class spectrum, but shared a passionate interest in class issues and economic justice. Over the years they kept talking, while Felice co-founded United for a Fair Economy with Chuck Collins and Jenny started a philanthropic and wealth counseling business.
In 1995, Jenny and Felice decided they wanted to broaden the conversation about how class and money issues affect people—personally, culturally, and institutionally. They formed a cross-class dialogue group composed of four people from upper-class backgrounds and four people from poor or working-class backgrounds, all involved with some form of social change work. Their wealth ranged from a net worth of $10 million to significantly below zero due to health care debt. The group met for six hours every month for more than six years. The work they did was powerful and transformative for each participant.
In the fall of 2001, Felice and Jenny, with fellow dialogue group member Jerry Koch-Gonzalez, began offering workshops and cross-class dialogue groups for other people in Western Massachusetts. The number and variety of their workshops grew, and there were more requests for organizational consultations and talks on class. Felice and Jenny decided to form a non-profit organization in order to more effectively raise consciousness about the taboo topic of class and to address classism, both locally and nationally. Our board was formed in May 2004, and Class Action incorporated in July 2004.
